Mr M'Gregor at Akaroa.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7013, 18 November 1890, Page 3

Mr M'Gregor at Akaroa.

r Mr M'Gregor addressed the Akaroa j electors at Akaroa on Saturday evening. 3 The Mayor presided. Mr M'Gregor, who j was well received, thanked his constituents s for the kindness they had shown him since r he had represented them. He had beld a j position which prevented hia name 3 being often seen in Hansard. He 1 believed in every member having the t privilege to state hiß opinions, but some- . thing should be done to prevent the b obstruction of business by a minority. , Proposals had been brought down by the b Government for this purpose, bub the > Opposition had prevented their being 0 accepted by the House. The new rules were not intended to gag discussion or c stifle debate, bnt to give the Government 1 power to proceed more swiftly in the f despatch of public bnsiness. The sessions c of 1888 and 1889 were very wearisome t. ones. The time of the House was r wasted by certain members, who obo Btructed business for no reason what- [- ever, unless for their own glorificaa tion. The names of these members a were well known, so he need not repeat a them. He claimed for tho Government,, however, that much good work

fc had been done. When the presen c Ministry came into power the countr f was in a distressed position, the dcii I ciency was increasing and the exche 1 quer was a fulling one. The Premie calculated the Colony was £100,000 t< j the bad on the year's income. D."anti< 2 measures of retrenchment and .'Additions, taxation, viz., a penny Property tr.zz, wen j the Government's first steps. Iv March 1888, the deficiency had, in siiite of ibesi measures, increased to £528^605. This [ was an alarming position for thi Treasurer to face, and was gruvelj t considered. A primage duty was en' ' forced, to last two years, that the , deficiency might wear off, ,*;nd corfcair ; increases were marie- in the Customs duties '. These bold measures had mst -.''■■> c]\w. ; culty, aud they were now in afr perous condition. (Applause.) IV position of the Colony, as from the Property tax retu ■ [ as follows : — The total ass* , • M 15.055.563, aad the total ' jfc59.512.720. The present surpl . . credit cf th 9 Colony wa3, the; ■>'■■ less than £128,000,000, and «■":. ' '.-.'•-.- that their population was only 6i ; -, J . „ •:..-. large indeed, bomg an average ;.. J..-; of over £210. The avaraga valt: . holdings of freeholders was no . • 'J .- £IOOO per head. This proved th.- . .; ;■;: to be in s. good position, and so c ' *•:.. . ; enormous exports, which last yes-- iv :• .-;..-. ; leos thau nearly ten millions, wIJ..-- .J- 7: ' imports wore sis ruiilicna, '£■' ■ :':',. . Colony shewed such rssultn ns tv.:\:-.? : -.; '. thoy were a complete an3v;er torments made by pessimists, Ke -■■-■:'■■■' z.:- v claim that this prosperity —ao the .-.-..!; . the action of the present ; , :■ ....';■.- ment, but it prociaiu-.ed tl- ,?;-.'. buoyancy of the Colony and \tr \ menso resources. After the E^i'iv-v---had been brought down, a --i.r--.tion of the House waited on the Pr.-uiiec requesting him to reduce them by ±'£0,000, and though this was, in his opui.-..-u, unconstitutional, the Premier sgr«.«.-» if it were allocated as Government th.-u^ht best. When the Estimates came before the House, however, the Opposition jened the Skinflints and demanded contiauai concessions. Night after night daba.HM took place on the reduction of tha i<alury of ■ some wretched clerk or unfortunate surveyor, and disgraceful scenes taut wore a sight for gods and men were oi frequent occurrence. In the end the Estima'eswere reduced by .-644,019, £5000 of whioh w.13 from clerk's salaries and £950 r'rora the Audit Office, without which the AuditorGeneral declared ho could not carry on the work. It was hoped that next session a Bill would be passed to J place the publio service above political influonce, and a beginning had ilready been made, in the shape of the Poßt and Telegraph Bill. He was strongly in favour of tho maintenance of the present system of education. It was most efficient, and the cosi. of .£5 j ss 3d per child contrasted favourably : with the statistics from Victoria, New South J Wales, and Queensland. He was, however. : opposed to retaining the Education Boards, which he considered excrescences on the Act, and hoped the control would soon be vested in tho County and Borough Councils, with a central financial body in Wellington. (Applause). There wore some 13,458 children being educated in the private schools of the Colony, with a strict average of 11,393, and by this a saving of , some £43,000 a year was effected. In England the result of the report of a Royal Commission had been that grants were given to private schools, which the National School Inspectors resented and opposed. He thought any measure brought forward in this direction would deserve the most serious consideration of Parliament. He didnot think our present educational system went far enough. He believed in the i establishment of publio technical and secondary schools. The system would not be complete till it extended from the primary standard to a University decree. (Applause). He believed in intercolonial freetrade, aud was glad to support Mr Joyce in that matter, in which ho had taken a warm interest. The Australian Colonies had fought shy, however, and though the Governor had communicated with the Home Government on the matter, Government had little hope of a successful result. He believed the centralisation of local government would have an excellent effect, for at present much administrative ability was wasted by the existence of so many different bodies. The Westland County Bill, which proposed to give the Council control of licenses, cemeteries, &c, in Westland and part of Nelson, had been introduced in order that the experiment might be tried. The Bill had not passed, but he hoped soon to see all local legislation, except, j perhaps, the control of the police, and of lunatic asylums, in the hands of the county and borough councils. The appointment of the Railway Commissioners had been most opportune. During the labour troubles they had conducted the business admirably, whilst a Minister of Raihvays, with the pressure brought to bear, could not have held office long. In spite of the contentions of the Opposition, he believed in the present system for the settlement of the land, as he considered it offered most abundant facilities. The sweating inquiry had shown that the towns were not so congested as reported, and it was most desirable that suitable settlers, who had some practical knowledge, should take up the Crown lands. Any man, however, who possessed the smallest capital or credit could take up land at once, and this was proved because about one thousand people had taken up land in the six months ending September last. These settlers had acquired no vast estates, but were bona fide farmers, who had been enabled to go on the land with moderate means, thanks to the present land regulations. There had, of course, been bad cases of dummyism, but that would be the case under any Act. It was their duty to expose dummyism in every possible way, for by concealing it they became participators in the offence. (Applause.) He thought the Property tax preferable to the proposed Land and Income tax so vaunted in the North, or the so-called single tax. Farmers contributed h eavily to the Property tax, which also reached nearly everyone, including the absentees, and was on the whole fair to all. It was collected at a Bmall cost, but it was a grave scandal that the returns from the banks, bank note circulation and savings banks showed that six millions and a half were not returned by property owners, and so escaped taxation. It would be well, he thought, seeing the difference in the valuations, to appoint Government valuers for life instead of appointing men triennially, as at present. As to land taxation, the runholdera were undoubtedly entitled to consideration, as the pioneers of the Colony ; and under the Property tax paid their full share. Their subjection to progressive taxation would be unfair. John Stuart Mill, the great political economist, said that progressive taxation meant the undue handicapping of the industrious for the benefit of the improvident. Farmers would have great difficulty in keeping their accounts in sufficient detail were an Income tax imposed. A great tidal wave of Unionism had swept over the Colony, and it was impossible to tell the damage that had been done, but it had been enormous. No one doubted working men were right to endeavour to ameliorate their condition by united action, but not in such a hasty manner. Boards of arbitration should be appointed by employers and employees, and the decisions arrived at Bhould have Parliamentary Jsanction. If he were returned he could assure them he would do his best for themselves and the whole colony. • There was loud applause at the conclusion of the address, and Mr Black, ; having asked whether Mr M'Gregor was i in favour of letting holders of land on ' perpetual lease convert it into freehold, ; which was answered in the affirmative, the i County Chairman, Mr E. E. Lelievbe. i moved— "That Mr M'Gregor be thanked > for his address, and that this meeting has i every confidence in him as their repre- • sentative." This was seconded by Mr Hedge, and on ' being put to the meeting was unanimously , carried. A vote of thanks to the Chairman : terminated the proceedings.

| -.'-':'■ :.b Pekss Aesofii A-, ry.-.'] ALcrr >, "' Mr J. Di-Lavi'l\ r ! the Bay I v ida 3( 0' m* 'if-, lf\opu a? ' . o 1 M r--or ' said h« tj f-ivou of 1 D . he ad?D tt.ii n< m » tion or <I triune t | ill Vi ' ha. r Ie s I for '■ho I - -I A E»,l, , , ' WjuL^o i c . declined 3 Ibe L 1 have ro tl c- By • ,ur \ ' ( j 1 - i /- "> 1 L 1 , 4 J ■— >. J* 1- -5 * \ ,7 ''it I l < <- v f " x - lh 1 v and confidouu^ WELLINGTON, Nov. IV. Mr W. M'Cardell, who was announced for Maaterton, hag withdrawn from the contest in favour of Mr A. W. Hogg. BLENHEIM, Nov. IT. Considerably over three hundred miners attended Mr Richmond Hursthouse's meeting at Cullensville on Saturday evening, held in connection with that gentleman's candidature for the Waimea- Picton constituency. The chair was taken by Mr A. Campbell. The candidate with considerable emphasis explained his views on the political question* of the day. He said he was a self-made man, and had wrought for his living since he had been cloven year 3 of age. He would go iuto Parliament as an Independent candidate, but gave the Govevnmi.'nfc credit for their prudent financial administration. He was of opinion that the new electoral districts had in many cases beeu injudiciously determined, and supported a proposal to amend the Standing Orders of the House co as to curtail the e-jeeches of members. He favoured the existing forms of land tenure, and attributed the large estates to the action of Sir George Grey before thn Colony had a Constitution. The Premier's proposal for borrowing monoy within the Colony to construct roads, received the candidate's approval, but he was strongly opposed to further borrowing. Mr Hursthouse advocated the continuation of the Froperty tax in preference to other imposts proposed ; tho initiation of Colonial free trade; and the consolidation of the system of local government. He further supported a measure providing for the non-adulteration of liquor, and the abolition of tied public-houaes. He favoured the extension of State aid to Soman Catholic schools, on the basis of tho old Nelson Provincial system. The candidate received a fair hearing, although interrupted at intervals with witty remarks only heard on the diggings. At the conclusion of his address Mr Hursthouse satisfactorily answered a number o£ questions, and received a vote of thanks. DUNEDIN, Nov. 17. At a public meeting, hold last ni;jht, under the auspices ot" the New Zoaland Alliance, it was stated that a conference world shortly be held for tho purpose of selecting three candidates, pledged to the ! temperance cause, to represent Dunedin | City. j Mr Calder has retired, as a candidate for | the Dunedin suburbs, in favour of Mr | Ross. I Mr D. Pinkerton, one or the labour : candidates for the city, addressed a largely- j attended meeting: this evening, and was i well received. Ho spoke at length on tho broad grounds of Unionism, which he supported, but without referring to the late strike. He declared himself a Protectionist, in favour of a progressive land tax and a supporter of the present syntem of education. Ho would do away with the Legislative Council, and sweep away the Railway Commissioners. He received a vote of thanks and confidence, after Messrs Pish and Hutchison, tho other, candidates, had spoken a few words. Mr William Barron, late M.H.R. for Caversham, who i 3 a candidate for Taieri, addressed the electors at Green Island to-night, and received a vote of thanks. He declared himself a Liberal Independent. Dealing with the labour question, he said Parliament could and should do but little, J save to keep a clear field and show no ' favour. Ha regarded it as quite an j ephemeral question. He maintained that the Premier was the most socialistic politician in the Colony. Iv the ranks of the Opposition were some of the strongest Conservatives; and one of the most Liberal and the most Radical statesman in the Colony, albeit eminently practical, was Sir F. Whitaker, who was generally regarded as a pronounced type of Tory.